That spring, as he worked with horses on his Bucks County farm, Allen looked up to see Schmidt, Cash and Richie Ashburn walking toward him. The team's superstar, its spiritual leader, and popular broadcaster had been dispatched to convince Allen to come home.
The Phillies said Allen, who now works for the team, would not be available to comment on this story, but in his 1989 autobiography Crash, cowritten with Tim Whitaker, he described his reaction this way:
"At first I figured it had to be a joke," Allen wrote. "It's not my style to return to the scene of the crime. But I had to admit the idea of coming home did fire me up a bit. I always did like surprises - even when the surprises were on me."
He eventually agreed to a trade here. Right away there were signs of the old Allen independence. While Iverson cried at his welcoming news conference, Allen smoked, punctuating his answers with long drags on a cigarette that GM Paul Owens had lit for him.
Like Iverson, he vowed to be a solid citizen.
"I'm not here to stir up trouble," he said. "I'll try to play ball as hard as I did when I was here before, and try to have better relations with the press."
The fans were glad to see him. In a Daily News poll, 1,531 readers said they favored Allen's return while 887 opposed it.
"Damn near blew me away," wrote Allen.
He would hit .233 with 12 homers and 62 RBIs in 119 games that first year; .268 with 15 homers and 49 RBIs in 85 games in '76.
But after the Phils clinched the NL East title in Montreal, the team went to St. Louis. Allen went home.
"I was happy to be on a winner, but I was torn up about how I felt about the Phillies organization," he wrote. "My shoulder was hurting. I needed to mentally recharge for the playoffs."
Recharged, he went 2 for 9 as the Reds swept Philadelphia in three games.
Before that series, owner Ruly Carpenter had told Allen he would not be re-signed for '77.
"They did wish me luck," he wrote.
Allen would drift off to Oakland, where following 54 games his mercurial career ended.
"I love Philly," Allen wrote. "I want Philly to love me. I hope that someday the fans there realize how much I wanted to win a flag for them. I think somewhere they know that."
Sounds as if it could have come from Iverson's lips.
Contact staff writer Frank Fitzpatrick at 215-854-5068
or ffitzpatrick@phillynews.com.
